A Chink in the Armour
by StraightLegScorp
Summary: Clary has been a Shadowhunter all of her life, and so has Jace. When they meet, Jace thinks he's in love, and Clary thinks he's an obnoxious pig. When they become friends - and maybe more than friends ;) - and Jace is the strongest person that Clary knows, she is surprised when she finds a chink in what she thought was his unbreakable armour.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ****I am not Cassandra Clare *sigh***

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Clary

Clarissa Fairchild was just your average shadowhunter, you know, one who had incredible rune-drawing abilities. A girl brought up by a strong-willed mother who taught her various skills as a child. Clary was pretty, but not beautiful. She was confident, but not obnoxious or full of herself. She was strong and agile, but she was also weak and clumsy.

Clary had never even thought about boys as anything other than friends, fathers, or immature pigs. Not until she met a boy named Jace, who was not a friend nor a father, but she wasn't sure whether or not he was an immature pig yet.

He was beautiful - there was no denying that - like something out of a drawing or fairy tale. Clary could almost picture him on a page in her sketchbook, a knight in shining armour, one that only beautiful girls - so much unlike herself - had the pleasure to meet.

Yet when she walked into Taki's and ordered take-out for herself, her mom and Luke, the golden boy began speaking to her.

She looked at him, extremely confused. Had he just said what she really thought he said? What an asshole.

"I said, are you sure a small girl such as yourself can eat that much?" he repeated himself, gold eyes boring into green ones.

"I heard you," Clary replied sharply, "I just chose to ignore you."

"I meant that as a compliment," he said with a wink. Yep, definitely a pig. Clary just glared at him, hoping he would leave her alone. It didn't seem to be working though.

"I'm Jace," he began again.

As Clary's food came to the counter, she grabbed it and started turning around, only stopping to say, "And I'm leaving. If you don't want to get your sorry ass kicked by a girl, I suggest you leave me alone."She walked out the door, not even looking back to see if he was watching her, even though she could feel his intense gaze following her, as if his eyes were trying to burn holes in her.

Jace

Jonathan Wayland was just your exceptionally average shadowhunter, one with natural skill and fighting abilities. One who did everything with grace, as if he were dancing. One who never thought twice about a kill, as he knew what he was doing was right. One who always put himself in the midst of danger, as he knew it was his duty to sacrifice himself if necessary.

Jace had never thought of girls as anything close to relationship material. They were either sisters, mothers, random ugly mundanes, or pretty girls who he wouldn't spend more than a night with. Not until he met a girl whose name he didn't even know. Why? Well because she was too stubborn to tell him. She wasn't a sister or a mother, she definitely wasn't an ugly mundane, and he didn't think he would even get the pleasure to spend one night with her.

This girl was gorgeous - like an undying flame in the midst of winter - but she wasn't Jace's type. She wasn't tall and curvy with silky blonde or brown hair. She didn't flaunt her looks, and she definitely didn't swoon when they first met. Which was why he was surprised when he was attracted to her.

He had been in Taki's, flirting with the waitress - Kaelie, his sorta friend with occasional benefits - when he spotted a small red head walking in. He watched her as she walked up to the counter beside him, ordering an insane amount of food for someone so tiny. He decided that it would be a good time to comment on it.

"Are you sure a small girl such as yourself can eat the much?" he had inquired, putting on the charm.

She glanced at him, looking him over quickly before turning away again. Had she - had she just _ignored _him? Jace was so shocked that he didn't know what to say next. He didn't let the small blow effect him though. He carried on, "I said, are you sure a small girl such as yourself can eat that much?"

Jace didn't know what answer he had expected - perhaps a response along the lines of, "I didn't expect a compliment from an insanely good looking boy such as yourself." This, however, was not even close to what she actually said.

"I heard you, I just chose to ignore you," she replied in an icy tone that girls rarely spoke to hi with.

Jace decided that she would have to succumb to his charm eventually, so he just kept going, "I meant that as a compliment." He gave her a quick wink, hoping to make her smile at the very least.

His wink had the opposite effect though, as she looked at him as if he were the most disgusting person in the world.

"I'm Jace," he said, trying a different approach. As Kaelie gave the girl her food, she turned around and left, only stopping to say, "And I'm leaving. If you don't want to get your sorry ass kicked by a girl, I suggest you leave me alone."

She was perfect. She may have temporarily hurt Jace's ego, but she was exactly the girl he felt like he'd been waiting for his entire life. She was the exact opposite of the girls that Jace was usually with, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to see her for as long as possible before she was gone. So he watched as she walked out the door, hoping to follow her as she walked home, lurking in the shadows so that she wouldn't see him.

But by the time he had made it to the front door of Taki's, she was gone. Nowhere to be seen.

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**Review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry if it's not what you expected, but it's my story and if you don't like it, don't read it. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :)**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own MI *crying*  
**

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As soon as Clary was out of Taki's, she hid in the alley beside it, waiting for Jace to come out. She wasn't sure why she was doing this, or what exactly she planned to do in the first place, but something made her curious about him, and she wanted to find out what it was. She normally had no interest in boys, especially boys like Jace. He was nothing like the boys that she usually conversed with, and maybe that's why he was so…captivating.

She knew his type, knew that he would try to follow her out of the store. He walked outside and looked both ways, frown lines creasing his forehead as he strained to see a girl that wasn't there.

After a minute, Jace's phone rang and he answered, but Clary was too far away to hear what he was saying.

All of the sudden his posture went rigid, and he turned to the right, quickly walking down the sidewalk. This, Clary knew, was her cue to go. She climbed the old, rusty ladder that led to the roof. Though she was unsure why there was a ladder there, she was thankful that she didn't have to find her own way to the top.

Once she was on the roof, she went in the direction that Jace had gone, barely able to see the tip of his blonde head through all of the people. Jace had the difficult task of weaving in between all of them, but Clary could just sprint across the roofs of the small shops in the downtown area. Most of the shops were connected, or so close together that it wasn't hard to get across, but some had large alleys in between.

She had come to one of them just as Jace had turned into it, and she skidded to an abrupt stop. She barely managed to flatten herself before Jace was slowly walking down the alley. He got to around where Clary was, and stopped, closing his eyes and slightly tilting his head, as if he was listening for something.

His phone rang again and he picked it up quickly. This time, Clary could hear everything he was saying.

"Alec, where are you?" Jace inquired, though Clary couldn't hear the answer.

Jace froze for a split second before pulling out a seraph blade and turning on the Marbas demon. The shape-shifting demon was in the form of a three-headed lion. It had a serpent tail with a stinger at the end. It had razor-sharp claws and teeth, which were currently snapping at Jace.

Jace whispered, "Puriel," before his blade lit up and he ran at the demon.

He swung up in an arch, severing two of the heads. He held the demon by it's throat, the tip of his blade about to drive into its heart.

"Wait!" Marbas said in a scratchy voice, "I can give you information."

"Which would be?" Jace prodded.

"You're being watched. And - and, there's a girl who's falling for you," Marbas answered as Jace looked up to where Clary was hiding, although it was too dark to see her.

In that split second of distraction, Marbas clawed at Jace, raking its claws down his arm. Jace didn't even seem to notice the pain as he easily leapt over the demon. As Marbas looked for the now missing Jace, he struck from behind, going for the kill that both pierces the heart and severs the spine at the same time.

"Nobody sneaks up behind Jace Lightwood," Jace said as the demon folded in on itself until it was gone completely, "And thanks for the tip, but every girl falls for me."

_Could you be any more obnoxious!? _Clary wanted to scream at him, but she knew that it would only reveal that she was really there. Jace didn't even look back to see if anybody actually hiding there, as the demon had said. Instead, he walked briskly from the alley without looking back.

Clary sat frozen for a moment, trying to process everything that had happened so far. Oh how she wished she could have been in that battle, with adrenaline pumping through her and her muscles working as she murdered the demon. Her thoughts were scattered as she remembered that there was a point to following Jace, and she hadn't exactly fulfilled it yet.

She stood up and searched for him, barely making out his golden head as he crossed the street. Sighing, Clary jumped from the top of the roof and landed steadily on her feet - her mother had spent agonizing hours helping her get over her fear of heights. She wasn't completely over it, but at least she didn't curl up in a protective ball when she jumped anymore.

She was crossing the street now, narrowly avoiding getting hit by cars, not that they noticed thanks to her glamour. She couldn't see Jace anymore since there were so many people - which was strange for eight o'clock at night. The blonde head was gone, or Clary was just too short to see it.

She kept going the way that she thought she had seen him go, but she couldn't manage to spot him. She would have gone back on the roofs, but these buildings were two stories tall, and Clary didn't think she could get to the top without falling.

As she passed an alley, she heard a silky voice speak through the shadows, "Looking for me, gorgeous?" it inquired. Clary quickly grabbed her witchlight runestone from her pocket and lit up the dark alley. A familiar face smiled cockily at her in the hazy light.

"Do you just assume that everyone is obsessed with you?" Clary answered his question with one of her own, a scowl on her face.

"Everyone is a very general statement," Jace began, "The male population of the world, for instance, I'm not so positive that they obsess over me - although there have been a few offers."

Clary rolled her eyes. Why did she even follow him in the first place?

"Besides, I _know_ that you're infatuated with me," Jace said.

"Oh yeah?" Clary asked, "And how would you know that?"

"Well, you did follow me, did you not?" Jace replied as he gestured to their situation.

"Who said I was following you?" Clary said as she stuck her nose up, though she knew she was a terrible liar.

"Marbas did," Jace answered honestly.

"You believe a demon?" Clary asked, shocked.

"My, my, little girl. You do not know much about my dear old friend the President of Hell now do you?"

"My name is not little girl," Clary answered furiously, "And no, I guess I don't know that much about Marbas demons." Clary was beginning to regret every second of following Jace. He was making her so angry that she felt like a balloon about to be popped.

"Marbas _demons_?" Jace asked, a look of shock on his face, "Little girl, that was not _a_ Marbas demon, that was _the _Marbas demon. And I will have you know that he has the power to answer truly hidden or secret things, such as the fact that you're falling in love with me."

Clary was flabbergasted, "Excuse me? You think _I'm _falling for _you_?" She laughed aloud, unable to control the giggles escaping her lips. "I'm sorry," she said, laughter still in her voice, "I just find it amusing that you think that." She wiped a tear from her eyes as she tried to control her spasms.

"I do not _think_, I _know_," Jace's voice was confident as he stalked past her to the end of the alley, "Little girl, Marbas can tell things about people that they may not even know themselves."

Clary's laughter died down as he called her _little girl_ again. "My name is Clary!" she screamed as he turned the corner and walked away.

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**Marbas is an actual demon that I looked up but I may have tweaked it slightly *evil laugh*. I wrote this instead of doing my essay so be happy :)**

**Review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to write, but life got in the way. I know right, it's unbelievable that I have a life isn't it?  
**

**How have everyone's holidays been so far? I hope you all got wonderful presents, and would like to give me a present by dropping a review! :D  
**

***Just in case you hadn't notice, I did change this chapter, because it was brought to my attention that things were moving to quickly, which I totally agree with. So sorry for the change if you liked this chapter, but it was a bit too fast-paced.  
**

**Disclaimer: I have no idea why I still put these stupid things, I think it's fairly obvious that I am not Cassandra Clare and I don't own anything that she has ever written.  
**

**Anyways, on with the story...**

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**Jace**

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Jace walked the short distance to the Institute, where he would surely find his family waiting for him. He was still confused as to what the hell had been going on with Alec, and why he had lied about being captured by a Greater Demon. That was serious, and Jace had been willing to do anything for Alec when he had received the call.

He figured that it must have been a set up though. Really, how convenient that Marbas just happened to end up in the same alley that Jace had walked down. Especially after Alec had supposedly been taken by a demon that is in control of Marbas.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jace saw a flash of red, stopping his thoughts in their tracks. He spun in a circle, looking for the red hair that could only be described as a flickering flame seeming to grow brighter by the second, instead of slowly dying down. But he saw no fire, only dark figures on a dark street.

Jace was uneasy now - he could have sworn that he had seen her hair, but perhaps he was just hallucinating. _Amor facit nos rabidus_, right? Another one of his father's sayings that Jace just couldn't seem to get out of his head. But never mind that, it was irrelevant. Jace wasn't in love with Clary, he didn't even know her.

Jace spun around and pulled out his _seraph _blade as a light tap came on his shoulder.

"Is the blade really necessary? I don't think I'm _that_ much of a threat," Clary said as she held up her hands and raised her eyebrows in an innocent as well as questioning gesture. Jace put the blade away as he took her in - all of her - from her denim clad legs and her dainty artist's hand on her cocked hip to her green winter jacket and slim waist. Eventually his eyes came to rest on her pale, freckled - not to mention beautiful - face, specifically, her emerald green eyes.

"You never know when a demon might attack," Jace answered cooly, his gaze still locked with hers.

"You think that a demon who might attack you is going to tap you on the shoulder first?" Clary asked.

Jace shrugged, "It's happened before." Clary raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "Nobody has ever snuck up on me before," Jace said, clearly surprised with her soundless abilities.

"I'm not nobody," Clary shrugged as she replied, "Besides, you looked lost in thought."

Jace felt his cheeks grow warm and he quickly averted his eyes as he remembered what it was that he had been thinking about. He wiped away the expression as fast as it had come, in hopes that Clary hadn't noticed. When he looked back up at her, she was smirking - clearly she had noticed.

"You think pretty highly of yourself, don't you?" Jace asked, thinking back to her previous comment that she is somebody.

It was Clary's turn to blush and she looked at her feet, clearly uncomfortable.

"I'm nobody important," she muttered, still looking downwards. She spoke so quietly that had Jace been a typical mundane, he wouldn't have even heard it. After a minute of awkward silence, Jace spoke hastily, "If you don't want anything else, I'm just going to go."

"No!" Clary looked up suddenly, "I mean no, I, uh, wanted to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot," Jace responded, somewhat curious as to what she could be asking.

"Why were you saying that love makes us crazy?" Clary asked incredulously.

"Did I - did I say that out loud?" Jace asked, his face turning so white that Clary was sure he was going to pass out.

"Did you not mean to?" Clary asked, inwardly smirking at his stupidity. "You know, for someone who thinks that they're all that and a bag of chips, you really are fulfilling your dumb blonde stereotypes."

"Did you just say I'm stupid?" Jace asked, completely shocked.

"I did not say stupid, I said dumb," Clary clarified.

"I am not stupid," Jace said, a hurt expression passing over his face for such a short time that Clary wondered if it was ever there at all.

"I never said you were," Clary reminded him. "Now if we can stop idly bickering about your intelligence, would you mind answering my question?"

"I would mind actually," Jace said as he turned on his heel and started walking towards the Institute. He turned around for a fraction of a second, and Clary heard him mutter 'little girl' under his breath.

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**Clary**

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Clary mentally beat herself up for not being brave enough to ask the question she had intended to. After being embarrassed by Jace multiple times, Clary had thought that it was an appropriate time to get back at him. Clearly she was wrong. To be honest, she was curious as to why he had been mumbling about love and hallucinations and craziness. The only reason that Clary knew that saying, _amor facit nos rabidus_, was because her mother had told her as a young girl that her father used to say it all of the time. She said he thought it was an excuse for all of the horrific things that he had done in his life.

She began walking towards her house - having given up on Jace for the night - when something small and white passed her eye. After feeling something cold land on her forehead, Clary looked up towards the sky, watching as tiny white flakes fell around her, adding a layer of white to everything. She spun around in a circle, spreading her arms wide and sticking her tongue out to catch the snowflakes. Clary felt as if she was a little kid seeing snow for the first time, and all she wanted to do was make a snowman.

It was then that she saw a flash of gold amidst the white, making her stop circling and stare at the angel walking towards her. He was still a fair distance away, but Clary had seen him as if he was directly in front of her. His woolen black coat was dotted with white, and his golden blonde hair - which was still perfect - seemed to be the only colour in a white world. His nose and cheeks were a pale pink from the frigid air, and a crooked smile was spread on his face. Not a smirk or a cocky grin, but an actual smile.

As Jace approached Clary, she became extremely confused - wasn't he angry with her for what she had said? It appeared that he wasn't mad anymore, as he just kept smiling dazzlingly, making her heart jump in her chest. This was unusual, Clary had never experienced butterflies quite like this before. Plus, she felt as if she was having a heart attack.

Her and Jace were the only people left on the street, as it was Christmas Eve and people had families to spend it with, unless they were Shadowhunters, since they didn't celebrate Christmas in the same way that mundanes did.

Jace had finally stopped, close enough that Clary could reach out and touch him.

"Jac-" she began, but was cut off abruptly as Jace closed the distance between them and bent down to gently press his lips to hers. After a moment of hesitation, Clary pushed him away. She did not like this boy. _She did not like this boy._

"I'm sorry," Clary muttered, as she took in Jace's hurt face, "But I will not be like the millions of other girls I'm sure that you've been with."

"I'm not," Jace replied, his eyes gleaming and a smile still spread across his face.

"Not what?" Clary asked, perhaps a bit too sharply.

"I'm not sorry," he said, his face once again a mask, hiding what Clary could only assume were his emotions - though she wasn't certain that he had any.

"Of course you're not. I'm just another girl in the ever-lasting line, right?" Clary asked, suddenly furious that he had had the nerve to kiss her. "Although I'm not even sure why you kissed _me_, since I'm not even close to pretty. But I assume it doesn't matter for you, right? Anything that looks and talks like a girl is bangable, right?"

She turned around and began walking away as fast as she could manage in the snow, which was now about three inches deep and coming down fairly heavily.

"Clary, I'm sorry!" Jace called from down the street.

Without turning around, Clary held up her hand, silently apologizing to God for her despicable use of her middle finger. But right then, Clary hadn't honestly cared what God thought, as long as what Jace thought hadn't anything to do with her in a positive way.

_Merry Fucking Christmas_, she thought.

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**So, penny for your thoughts? I'm not actually giving you a penny so don't expect one, but I would still love to hear your thoughts!  
What do you think Clary's question was?**  
**The scene at the end?**

**In my English class, we have this thing called the good, the bad and the ugly. This is where our teacher will tell us what we did that was good, what we did that was bad, and what we did that was terrible/ugly on every assignment/essay that we do. So, you're thoughts on my good, bad and ugly?**

**Please review! :)  
**

**Peace, love and sparkles,  
**

**SLS  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm really sorry that this took so long and I really don't have an excuse! I mean, exams are this week and I've been pretending to study, plus I just read to books in the past two days, but that doesn't really cut it. By the way, if you haven't read Matched by Ally Condie, you should go buy that book it's really good, but sad :(**

****I changed the last chapter a bit because someone pointed out to me that it was a bit rushed and thinking back, I totally agree. So if you haven't read the change, you might want to before you read this chapter!**  
**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)**

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Clary

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Clary was seated at the table across from her mother and Luke, who had surprisingly prepared a Christmas dinner after all. For some reason, even though shadowhunters were half-angel, they didn't really celebrate things that supposedly happened way back when.

"So I met this boy named Jace yesterday," Clary began when there was a brief gap in the conversation. Her mother dropped her cutlery and her mouth hung open for a couple of seconds before Luke pushed it closed.

"Oh, come on mom, it's not like I've never met a boy before," Clary said, curious as to why her mother appeared so shocked to hear this.

"No, of course not, dear. I was just – Jace, is he the boy staying with the Lightwoods in the Institute?" Jocelyn asked, regaining her composure.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, I've never seen Jace when I've been at the Institute, but I guess he must just be out when I'm there occasionally," Clary said, "Besides, neither Isabelle, Alec or Max have said anything about someone named Jace living there." Clary wondered about this, why hadn't they mentioned Jace before? Was he just a passing shadowhunter who was staying in the Institute for the time being? After all, Clary hadn't been there in a little over two months. Anything could have happened in that time span.

"Why do you ask?" Clary was also curious as to why her mother cared where Jace was living – because Clary certainly did not care.

"I've heard his name mentioned a few times," Jocelyn began, "Jace Wayland. He is supposedly famous for his demon-slaying abilities. Plus, he's been living with the Lightwoods for years now." Well, this removed any question that Jace had recently moved to the Institute. Clearly it had been his home for a long time.

Another thought dawned on Clary: she now knew his last name. Wayland. Jace Wayland. Clary Wayland. Clarissa Wayland – what the _hell_ was Clary doing? She didn't even like the arrogant prick, the thought of marrying him and taking up his last name was absurd. Although, Clarissa Wayland had a sort of ring to it that she wouldn't mind getting used to. And _no_, she definitely would _not_ be getting used to those two names combined, what on earth was she thinking?

"Everything all right, dear?" Clary's mom asked as she looked at her daughter's contorted face.

"Yes, fine," Clary replied as she did her best to mask her emotions and make her face appear blank. _Just like Jace did_, she thought as she unconsciously gnawed on her bottom lip. She would not think about that rude, conceited, self-absorbed, gorgeous boy who made her body tingle and her stomach turn somersaults.

_It's fine_, Clary thought, _you'll never see the ungodly Jace Wayland's stunningly attractive face again. _But just as she thought this, her mother contradicted it with a request of her own.

"Oh, why don't you go see how things are at the Institute tomorrow after lunch?" Jocelyn asked suddenly, the idea having dawned on her. "You should visit again, it's been a while and I'm sure Max misses reading Manga comics with you!"

"Yeah, what a _great_ idea," Clary replied, her voice dripping sarcasm, "I'm sure that Jace would absolutely _love _to see me."

Clary's mother looked at her as if she were crazy, but she didn't say anything; just shook her head and began eating again.

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Jace

* * *

"Alexander Lightwood!" Jace yelled as he prepared to scream at his adopted brother for lying to him, "How dare you!"

"How dare I what?" Alec asked, looking extremely confused.

"How dare you tell me that you had been _taken_ by a _demon_?" Jace exclaimed, "Do you know how goddamn worried I was?"

Alec's confused expression only grew more confused as he said, "Jace, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jace was completely taken aback. "Oh, really? So you're telling me that there's a person out there who's bent on getting me killed _and_ does the best impression of you that I've ever heard?" he asked sarcastically. Surely, Alec couldn't be telling the truth.

"You never know, it could happen," Alec said. "I mean really, I can think of many people who might be bent on getting you killed. Impersonating me wouldn't really be _that_ hard."

"So is that a no, you didn't call me?" Jace asked, ignoring Alec's previous comment.

"Yes," Alec replied, his voice imitating Jace's serious one.

"So that's a yes, you did call me?" Jace asked, confused.

"No, yes that's a no I didn't call you," Alec replied, exasperated.

"What?" Jace asked, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "Will you just tell me if you did or didn't call me?"

"No, I didn't call you!" Alec said in a loud voice, annoyed with Jace.

Jace just looked at Alec with a raised eyebrow and shook his head. He was about to turn around, when Alec put his hand on Jace's arm. "Wait," Alec began. "Mom said that the Fairchild girl is coming over tomorrow, so make yourself scarce."

"Got it," Jace replied. As usual, he wasn't allowed to meet any of the shadowhunter guests. He wasn't really sure why, but he assumed it had something to do with him being drop-dead gorgeous, and girls swooning whenever they looked at him. "What's her name, Alec?"

"Who, Fairchild?" Alec asked, extremely confused. "It's Clarissa, I think." With that, Jace nodded and turned around, going to the library for a little peek at the Fairchild family tree.

* * *

Jace flipped through the pages of the Fairchild family history book, seeing a Charlotte Branwell nee Fairchild from the 1800s, Aloysius and Adele Fairchild, of whom he had heard of. His father mentioned that they died in a house fire in Idris a while back. Right below Aloysius and Adele, was Clary. But her name wasn't Clary, or even Clarissa – it was Jocelyn.

Jace sat puzzled for a moment, until he saw the date that Jocelyn was born. _Of course_, he thought, _this must be Clary's mother_. Since Jocelyn looked to be about seventeen in that picture, Jace figured that the book hadn't been updated in a while.

He was just about to put the book back on the shelf when a small picture fell out of the back of it. After picking it up, Jace realized that it was Clary as a little girl – she looked to be about three, and she was drawing a rune on a piece of paper, using a real stele too. She was sitting on the floor and her copper hair was in tight braids, the same way that they had been the previous night.

Jace flipped the picture over, reading the caption, 'Clary drawing her first rune!' Now that Jace thought about it, he hadn't recognized the rune that was on the paper. It didn't appear to be one from the Gray Book. So if it wasn't from the Gray Book, where was it from? Could Clary have made it up herself? _Of course not_, he thought to himself, _that's absurd._

But even as he put the picture into his pocket and placed the book back in its spot on the shelf, he wondered if it was that absurd. He pondered this for a moment, before walking back to his room as fast as he could, deciding to accidentally come out of hiding while she was at the Institute.

* * *

Clary

* * *

Clary walked up to the large doors of the Institute, unsure if she should ring the doorbell or just walk in. She couldn't remember what she had done last time, since it had been so long ago. After thinking about it for a minute, Clary decided to ring the doorbell, since she didn't want to be rude.

After only a moment, one of the large doors opened, and Isabelle was standing inside. "How many times have I told you to let yourself in, Fairchild?" Isabelle asked, her lips curving upward into a smirk.

"Clearly not enough, Lightwood," Clary replied as she stepped passed Isabelle and into the Institute.

Isabelle's face became more serious as she said, "So why are you here anyway?"

"My mom, obviously," Clary said as she rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I would have come her on my own accord?"

"Ouch," Isabelle said, her voice full of false hurt.

"I'm kidding," Clary said with a smile. "I did want to ask you something though."

"For the last time Clary, we do not have any hot guys who also aren't conceited assholes staying here right now," Isabelle said, purely trying to drive Clary mental. This is what Isabelle said every time Clary visited, ever since she told Isabelle that she would rather die than stay in the same place as an egotistical prick, no matter how hot he was.

"And if you're thinking about Alec," Isabelle went on, "You might as well give it a rest. Not only is he not interested in anything but bananas, but he's also taken by somebody with one."

Clary gasped, reflexively. "No," she said, "Who? Is he a faerie? Is it Meliorn, Iz? I can see how that might be a bit upsetting."

"No, it's not Meliorn," Isabelle said as she rolled her eyes, "Besides, I broke up with him so it wouldn't matter anyway." Clary snickered. "He's not a faerie," Isabelle went on, "He's a warlock."

"No!" Clary said again. "It's not…"

"It is!" Isabelle confirmed.

"It's Fell?" Clary asked, completely shocked.

"God no! It's not Fell," Isabelle reassured her, "It's Bane."

"Magnus!?" Clary was surprised, she had had no idea that Magnus was gay.

"Yep."

"Well if he's happy…" Clary trailed off.

"He is," Isabelle replied, "He's finally happy."

"Good, I'm glad," she said with a smile. "Now, back to my question that you rudely interrupted," Clary said as she glared at Isabelle, but there was no real anger in her voice.

"What's your question, Fairchild?"

Clary hesitated for a second before saying, "Jace Wayland. Does he live here?"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! And I really am sorry that it's been so long!**

**What are my good, bad and ugly?  
Any tips for me?  
Anything I can fix/make better?  
**

**Please review! It would make me happy! :)  
**

**Peace, love and sparkles,  
**

**SLS  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello friends! I'm back! I know, it's shocking, right? I'm suuuuupppeeeer duuuupppeeer sorry that this chapter took like 5ever (people actually say that now...) but I got bored with this story. And then, not so bored anymore! So, because my boredom ended, you lucky people get to read another chapter in this story! But just so we're on the same page, I wouldn't get my hopes up about another chapter coming anytime soon.**

**Disclaimer: I am not that genius monster who tortures us with words. By the way, I'm really excited for all the books Cassie has coming, anyone else?**

* * *

Clary

* * *

"Who?" Isabelle asked. "I've never heard of anyone with that name."

Clary wasn't so sure that Isabelle was telling the truth. "Come on, Iz, he's like the most famous shadowhunter of our time or whatever. Apparently he's also the shockingly-gorgeous-with-the-flaw-of-being-a-conce ited-asshole-type.

"Sorry, nope. Haven't got a clue who you're talking about," Isabelle said, though she looked extremely unconvincing.

"Did I hear the words 'shockingly' and 'gorgeous' in the same sentence? I knew you've been talking about me behind my back," Magnus said as he stepped out of the library.

"I don't know if you failed to notice, Magnus, but the words 'conceited' and 'asshole' were also in that sentence," Clary said as she gave him a big smile.

"Ahh, so you were talking about that hot blond guy who lives here. Well he may be a conceited asshole, but he is one fine piece of ass," Magnus said with a wink.

"So he does live here!" Clary exclaimed. "Izzy, why did you lie to me?"

"Magnus!" Isabelle yelled.

"She didn't know?" Magnus asked, his eyebrows drawing closer together. "The way he talks about her, you'd think she did."

Clary's cheeks ignited and burned red as she thought about Jace talking to other people about her.

"Honey, that colour of blush matches your hair. I think you should go with a lighter shade," Magnus said as he turned around and walked into one of the many rooms in the Institute – presumably Alec's. He wiggled his fingers and smiled at them as he shut the door behind him.

The moment he was gone, Clary rounded on Isabelle. "Why did you lie to me?" she demanded. "Why can't I know that he's here?"

"I was actually wondering the same thing," said a voice from the shadows of the windowsill in the corridor. From the depths of the shadows emerged a boy with hair the colour of golden sunlight, holding his place in a book with the pointer finger on his right hand.

The book shocked Clary, who had no idea why a boy like Jace would spend his time reading.

They both turned on Isabelle now, expecting an explanation. Isabelle pursed her lips and stood with her arms crossed over her chest, as if she was thinking.

"Don't lie to me Isabelle," Jace said as he glared at her.

"Just give me a second," she replied.

"What do you need a second for? You obviously know the answer," Clary said, becoming frustrated.

"Well if you want me to be blunt, I'll be blunt," she said, equally annoyed. She sucked in a breath and let it out with a _whoosh_. "There is a price on your head, because of your father – well, your Valentine or whatever you want to call him," Isabelle said as she looked solely at Jace.

"Does nobody know that I'm living here?" Jace asked, shocked and confused.

"Only a few people know that Jonathan Wayland is living here. They know that Jace Lightwood is living here, and we wanted to make sure that you weren't recognized so they didn't take you away. Only the ones who've sworn to secrecy know about you, though clearly Jocelyn couldn't keep her mouth shut to Clary about it," Isabelle said, her eyes darting to Clary at the last second.

Clary raised her hands in surrender. "Hey, it's not my fault she told me. Besides, I'm her blood, so I guess she figured she could trust me," she said in defense.

"Yeah, but can she trust you?" Maryse said as she stepped out of the library, clearly eavesdropping on the conversation. "Can we?"

Clary looked at Jace with a wicked smile on her face. "Well, he means nothing to me, so I don't know why I shouldn't just tell everyone in the Clave. I'm sure the Inquisitor and Consul would love to know where Jonathan is."

"You wouldn't," Maryse said, completely shocked at Clary.

"No, I wouldn't," Clary said evenly. "But that doesn't mean I don't want something in exchange for this secrecy."

"Take as much money as you want," Maryse said, looking like she hoped what Clary wanted was money.

"Oh, I don't want your money, Maryse," Clary said. "I do, however, want something from him." She turned and pointed at Jace, the wicked smile back on her face.

Jace sighed. "Why does everyone always want me?" he pondered. "Alright, I guess you can have me. But just for one night."

Clary laughed. "As if I'd want you," she said, smiling at his enormous ego. "No, I want your training. Since you're supposedly 'the best shadowhunter of our generation', I want you to train me."

This time, Jace laughed, but Clary was completely serious. When he saw her expression, his laughter trailed off. "You're kidding, right?" Clary shook her head. "I can't train a little girl who probably doesn't even know basics. It'll be agonizing," he said.

Clary lunged at him, kicking him in the stomach and smacking him in the face. When he lost his balance, she shoved him and he fell to the floor on his back. She jumped on him and straddled his chest, pinning his arms down with her knees. Her fingers closed around his neck. "For you, or for me?" she asked.

* * *

Jace

* * *

Maryse had said yes for him, since he'd had a tiny girl with a lot of strength crushing his windpipe at the time. Maryse had also said that they could start that day. Jace would've protested, but he still had the girl sitting on his chest and suffocating him.

So, here they were. Alone in the training room, Clary wearing Isabelle's smallest shorts – though they were too big on her thighs and beckoned Jace like they were calling his name.

While Jace was staring off into space, thinking about things involving those shorts coming off, he let his guard down. The next thing he noticed, Clary was holding a sword to his back, the tip nicking his skin.

"Are we here to train, or are we here to stand in the middle of the training room floor thinking?" Clary asked as Jace turned to face her and she moved the sword to his throat.

"Put the sword down and we'll start," Jace said.

As soon as Clary began to lower the sword, Jace kicked the hilt and it flung from her hand, doing a half rotation and landing in his hand. He jumped over her and reached around her head so that the blade was pressed against her throat. "Lesson one, never lower your sword when someone tells you to," Jace said into her ear.

Clary sucked in a breath then turned around so that the sword was pressed against the back of her neck, and they were pressed together. She looped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss her. He obliged. He dropped the sword and put his hands on her face, kissing her like he'd wanted to since the first time he saw her.

Then he felt a slight tap at his leg before his legs were kicked out from under him and he fell on his side, smacking his head on the floor. After he had rolled onto his back, she was once again pinning him down, only this time with a knife against his throat.

She leaned down so that her mouth was beside his ear. "Lesson two, never let a girl seduce you during a fight. She'll always get the upper hand," Clary said as she laughed and rolled off of him.

They were both breathing heavily, with sweat gleaming on their skin. "I thought I was supposed to be teaching you the lessons," Jace said between breaths.

"I decided that you could use one yourself," Clary said, though she wasn't beside him anymore. She was standing at the door, playing with her pocketknife. She had moved so silently, Jace wondered why she wanted training at all.

When Jace said nothing, Clary said, "I'll see you tomorrow. Same time."

After a moment, Jace said, "About that kiss…" But when he turned to look at her, she was gone.

* * *

**And that brings us to the end of this chapter.**

**What did you think?  
What are my good/bad/ugly?  
Any suggestions for improvement?**

**Thanks for giving it a read and hopefully dropping a review! :)**

**Peace, love and sparkles,**

**SLS**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey y'all! I know it's been a while but I'm back with another chapter! How gracious of me, I know. Guess what!? I just got a job that I really don't want -.- now I won't have as much time to read and write and do other super duper fun stuff! Anyway, read on my lovely readers!**

**Disclaimer: Still not Cassie.**

* * *

Clary

* * *

After Clary had left the institute yesterday, she had run all the way home and collapsed on her bed. All she could think about was Jace's lips on hers, his hands woven through her hair, and her body pressed up against his as she felt the soft curls at the nape of his neck.

Now, Clary walked past the living room where her mother was painting, and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going, hon?" her mom asked as she reached the door.

"The institute," Clary said without turning around. "There's a…new instructor who's training me."

"I wonder why Maryse didn't mention that to me," her mother said, sounding confused and a little hurt. "What's their name?"

"His name – her name is Jac – Jaclyn," Clary replied, cringing at her answer.

"Oh, well, have fun!" her mother said enthusiastically as she waved a blue-dipped paintbrush through the air.

"I don't think fun is the right word," Clary mumbled as she walked out her front door.

After walking into the institute, Clary spotted Church on the ground and bent down to pet him. As she scratched his belly, she said, "Where's Jace, Church? Can you take me to Jace?" Church purred and got up slowly to his feet. He began walking right away and Clary followed.

Church led her to one of the institute's many bedrooms in the residential wing. After scratching him behind the ears, Clary knocked on what she assumed was Jace's bedroom door.

After a minute, Kaelie from Taki's answered the door. She was only wearing an oversized shirt that Clary assumed was Jace's and her underwear.

"Hey Clary," Kaelie said, smiling warmly at her.

"Kaelie," Clary said with a nod of her head and a slight curve of her lips.

Jace appeared at the door behind Kaelie, clutching her boob as he kissed her neck. Kaelie moaned in delight and turned her head toward Jace. They literally started making out not even a foot away from where Clary was standing.

Clary cleared her throat and looked at Jace expectantly.

With a sidelong glance at Clary, Jace continued kissing Kaelie. He grabbed her butt and hoisted her up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist.

"Can…I…help…you?" he asked between kisses.

"No, I'm just standing here watching you two eat each other's faces off because I enjoy it," Clary said, her voice dripping acid sarcasm.

Jace turned to look at her, momentarily ending their kiss. "Well in that case…" he said as he made a move to pull Kaelie's shirt off.

"Whoa, okay. I was being sarcastic," Clary said uncomfortably.

"I know," Jace said as he looked at her over Kaelie's shoulder. "I just like to watch you squirm." He had a devilish grin on his face that made Clary want to simultaneously kiss him and punch him in the face.

When Clary said nothing, Jace asked, "So, why are you here?"

"Here as in your bedroom, or here as in the earth in general? If it's the latter, I will gladly assume that you know how babies are conceived."

"Why are you here?" Jace demanded again, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Whoa there, tiger. Save it for the training room," Clary said. "Which is actually the reason I'm here if you'd stop whoring around."

Jace looked at Clary disbelievingly.

"Oh don't even give me that look!" she said, becoming infuriated. "You were seconds away from getting naked and having sex in the hallway! I think I'm right when I say you're a man-whore."

"Give me five minutes," he said gruffly, shutting the door behind him and Kaelie.

Rolling her eyes, Clary walked to the training room. Once there, she took inventory of their equipment before setting up an obstacle course to consume her time while Jace presumably took another hour.

* * *

Jace

* * *

When Jace finally walked into the training room, he was shocked to see what Clary had set up. She was jumping and diving over obstacles while slicing dummies to shreds.

He watched as she clutched a bow, with a quiver full of arrows strapped to her back. She ran towards the course and bent backwards as a tennis ball shot at her, skimming her stomach. Standing straight again, she loaded the bow and bent her legs expectantly, doing a front tuck as another ball shot at her again, but closer to the ground. The second she landed soundlessly on her toes, the arrow left her bow and hit the bull's eye on the target.

She immediately dropped to the ground and rolled on her side under a mat propped up with books. When she emerged on the other side of the mat, she released an arrow that struck a dummy in the center of its head. Before the arrow could even hit its target, Clary was on the move again.

She charged at a post and ran a little ways up the side of it, where she pushed off of a face drawn onto a piece of paper that had been taped up, and did a back tuck off of it. Once she landed, she let three more arrows fly in different directions, all of them hitting their targets dead center.

She ran and slid as another tennis ball came her way. In an instant the ball was sliced in half by a knife that had suddenly appeared in Clary's hand. Dropping the knife, she did a somersault back in the direction she had come from.

She was on her feet and running again, towards the first target she had hit. She had used random objects and lined them up to make something that resembled stairs. After hopping onto the last pile of stacked objects, Clary jumped off of the stack, shooting the first target again. Her second arrow landed in the exact same spot as the first, splitting the wood with a loud crack.

She dropped the bow and arrows and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Remind me," Jace said, startling her, "why you thought you needed training."

Clary turned around and for the first time since he'd arrived upstairs, he noticed that she was only wearing a sports bra and extremely tight shorts.

She shrugged. "There's always room for improvement."

Jace only stared at her, shocked into silence. "Plus I don't have a real training room at home to use," Clary added.

"Where did you learn to use a bow like that?" Jace asked.

"My backyard."

"Who taught you?"

"My mom taught me lots of stuff, but I learned how to shoot on my own."

"You taught yourself?" He gave her a confused look.

"Umm…yeah?"

"How?"

"It was kind of obvious? I mostly just set up pop cans and kept shooting until I hit them every time."

"So remind me again, why do you need my help?"

"I'm sure you could do that way better than I just did," Clary said, gesturing to the obstacle course.

Jace shrugged and sat down on the floor. Clary followed suit.

"How's Kaelie?" Clary asked innocently.

"Does it matter?" Jace asked in return.

"Well you did just spend forty minutes longer with her than you said you would."

"Jealous?" Jace asked, eyebrows raised.

"In your dreams."

"You're actually not in my dreams, but I bet I'm in yours."

"Nightmares, Jace. There's a difference."

He grinned, his golden eyes boring into her. "So, are we done training for the day then?"

"Not even close," Clary said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

* * *

Clary

* * *

"You're going to shoot those at me!?" Jace asked incredulously.

"Oh, come on, Jace. These ones have rubber ends!" Clary exclaimed. "Besides, if you dodge them, there won't be a problem, will there?"

Jace sighed, but got into position in front of the wall. "Fine. But after fifteen shots, we switch."

"Deal."

Clary shot two arrows so fast that she was positive Jace wouldn't even see them coming. Much to her surprise, however, he dodged both.

"Come on, Clarbear. You've got to do better than that."

She let the arrows fly in rapid succession, hitting him with only two, and just barely. Jace laughed as Clary began collecting the arrows she had shot at him. Even though she wanted so badly to hit him, all she did was narrow her eyes and glare at the bastard who was _laughing_ at her.

"My turn," Jace said, smiling happily.

Clary smiled back easily, but hers was laced with menace. The second she stepped in front of Jace, an arrow came flying at her. She figured it must have been aimed at her head, but she couldn't really tell since she dodged it right after it left the bow.

Another four arrows came barreling towards her, but she was faster than all of them. Dodging arrows like this made Clary feel like she was flying. Her feet barely skimmed the ground as she jumped, flipped and dived out of the path of every arrow shot at her. Every arrow but the very last one, that is.

Just as always when Clary was fighting, she had felt time slow the instant the first arrow was removed from the quiver. Now, as Jace prepared to release the last arrow, Clary noticed all of the tiny details that she was trained to see. She could see him take a deep breath in and out as he pulled the bow taut. She could see the muscles ripple in his arms as he held the bow aligned with his eyes. Clary could see everything from the bead of sweat dripping at his left temple and pasting his golden hair to his forehead, to the way his weight shifted almost imperceptibly to his right foot as he blinked and released the arrow.

Clary could see the arrow coming straight at her, aimed directly at her heart, as if the rubber were meant to spear her. When it was merely a foot away from her, Clary reached out and wrapped her fingers around the rubber tip right before it hit her.

* * *

Jace

* * *

"That definitely counts as one," Jace said, irritation flaring up inside his stomach. He was borderline pissed that a girl had beat him. There was no way Clary was faster than he was. Nobody was faster than Jace.

"I hate to break it to you, but I _caught_ that arrow. I wasn't hitby it so it doesn't count," Clary said smugly.

"There was absolutely _no way_ you could've dodged that! The only reason you caught it is because you didn't want it to hit you so that I wouldn't get one," Jace retorted, exasperated.

"Actually," Clary argued, "the reason I caught it is because I wanted to prove that I'm faster than you. I have faster reflexes _and_ I can move faster."

"You're not faster than me."

"Want to test that theory?" Clary's voice was all challenge, and Jace couldn't resist a challenge.

"Fine. How?"

"A race. At the park. Isabelle and Alec can stand at the start and finish lines, to make sure neither of us cheat," Clary decided.

"When?" Jace asked.

"Tomorrow," Clary replied. "I figured I'd give you a day to practice, since I'm going to beat you anyway."

"So cocky," Jace said. "Modesty is an attractive trait, you know."

"But if I was modest, you'd take it easy on me. I want to beat you because I'm better than you, not because you let me win." Clary's tone was completely serious.

"Trust me when I say I'd _never_ let you win."

"Just because you won't let me doesn't mean I won't win."

"We'll see about that."

* * *

**So I'll probably write more soon because I actually kinda like this story so yeah. Let me know what you think please!**

**Peace, love and sparkles,  
**

**SLS  
**


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